Boris Johnson thanks north of England for ‘breaking voting habits of generations’
Boris Johnson has thanked the north of England for “breaking the voting habits of generations” during a visit to Sedgefield today.
The Prime Minister visited the former seat of Tony Blair after celebrating the Conservative’s 80-seat majority – the party’s largest since 1987.
It was the first time the Country Durham constituency has been held by a Conservative MP for 84 years.
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Johnson told voters he knew “how difficult” it must have been to decide to back the Tories in the corners of the north east which were traditionally Labour strong-holds.
He thanked them for placing their trust in the Tories and said the consitutencies had “changed the political landscape” and “changed the Conservative Party for the better”.
“Everything that we do, everything that I do as your prime minister, will be devoted to repaying that trust,” Johnson added.
“We are the servants now and our job is to serve the people of this country and deliver on our priorities. And our priorities and their priorities are the same.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he had done “everything I could” and blamed Brexit for his party’s worst result since 1935, saying he would stand down “early next year” when a replacement is found.
Johnson meanwhile is expected to announce a minor cabinet re-shuffle on Monday before MPs return to Westminster on Tuesday to begin swearing in.
The Queen will formally reopen Parliament on Thursday.
It means Johnson could reintroduce his withdrawal agreement to Parliament before the end of next week, having promised to do so before Christmas.
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Following the result, there were some protests in London against Johnson’s victory, with demonstrators carrying signs that said “No to Boris Johnson” and “Not my Prime Minister”.
The Metropolitan Police said one person was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, while another was arrested for suspected affray during the protests.